Renoir

(1841-1919)

BiographyPierre-Auguste Renoir (25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. Pierre-Auguste Renoir was born in Limoges, France, the child of a working class family. As a boy, he worked in a factory where his drawing talents led to him being chosen to paint designs on fine china. During those early years, he often visited the Louvre to study the French master painters. In 1862, he began studying art under Charles Gleyre in Paris. There he met Alfred Sisley, Frédéric Bazille, and Claude Monet – all they painted in the Impressionist style.Renoir is known especially for his paintings of women.

Impressionism – a style of painting (used especially in France between

1870 and 1900) by use of colour rather than by details of form.

Claude Monet Argenteuil. Yachts

Kamil PissaroMill in Knocke,

Belgium

Pierre Renoir• Pierre Renoir was a famous French artist. His painting are very

popular today because they show colorful, happy scenes, often in bright sunlight. He liked to show the good things in life because he thought there were enough bad things already.

• He was born in central France in 1841. His father was a tailor and his mother was a dressmaker. The family was poor. They move in Paris when Pierre was three. As he grew older he showed a talent for drawing. He started work at the age of thirteen, learning how to decorate plates, cups, dishes and bowls. Later he studied at Paris Art School and became an artist.

• Renoir liked painting outdoor scenes of everyday life. On his painting “Children on the Beach of Guenesey” we can see children and young woman at the seaside. A hundred years ago, French children did not swim in the sea. They didn’t have special clothes for the beach and they usually wore hats and gloves, even in the summer.

Children on the Beach of Guernesey (1883)

Renoir loved family life, his children and his wife. He often painted pictures of families. Some ofhis paintings are of his own children. One of hissons, Jean was also very artistic. He became aworld-famous director.Pierre Renoir continued working to the end of his life, even when he became ill. He was seventy-eight when he died in 1919. You can see his paintings in museums and artgalleries all over the world. Art collectors paya lot of money for a painting by Renoir. In 2002his painting “ Woman sitting in her garden”was sold for 23,5 million pounds.

Renoir loved bright colors

Read the sentences and decide if they are true (T), false (F) or not

stated (NS):

1. When Renoir was three, his family moved to London.

2. He used dark or pale colors in his paintings.

3. Renoir started to work in ceramic factory when he was thirteen.

4. In Paris he studied Art.5. He had a big family.6. His paintings are very famous all over the

world.

Keys:

1. F2. F3. NS4. T5. NS6. T

On the Terrace (1881)

Questions to the text:• When and where was Renoir born?• What was his father and his mother?• When did he start work?• Where did he study Art?• Why are his paintings very popular today?• What colors did he use?• Why didn’t children swim in the sea in his

painting?• Why did he often paint his children and his wife?• How old was he when he died in 1919?• Why did he like to show the good things in his

paintings?

Read the definition and find out the word in the text:

• A person, usually a woman, who make clothes according to customers.

• The making or expression of what is beautiful, e.g. music, literature, especially painting.

• A person who makes clothes, especially for men, such as coats and suits.

• A room, hall or building, where works of art are shown and sometimes offered for sale.

• A person who produces works of art, especially paintings or drawings.

Keys:

• A dressmaker• An Art• A tailor• An Art gallery• An artist

Dancer (1874)

Gallery of the most famous Renoir’s paintings

Dance in the city (1883)

Jana Samari (1877)

Luncheon of the Boating Party (1881)

Madame Renoir with a dog

Ball at the Moulin de la Galette (1876)

Painting was sold $ 78,1 mln. in 2002 year.

The Umbrellas (1881)

Portrait of Jean Renoir and Gabrielle with her baby

Portrait of a girl (Thoughtfully)

If you want to see Renoir’s paintings in Moscow, you can

find some in Pushkin Art Museum